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ARThropomorphia: 20 Cartoon Animals Re-Imagined As People

A lot of animated movies and television series feature anthropomorphic animal characters. In cartoons such as Zootopia, the world is populated by all kinds of animals instead of us humans. On the other hand, in cartoons like Finding Nemo, the story is set in a world with people but in this world the animals are able to communicate between each other. However, in both cases these animals embody the personality traits that are otherwise associated with human characters. And some of these cartoons are parables and include a lot of symbolism and social commentary.

Taking into account that these cartoon animals already have personality traits of actual human beings and act pretty much the way us humans would act in a given situation, once the story starts to dwell into contemporary issues, it becomes very easy to re-imagine the animal characters as humans. And it should come as no surprise that tones of fans from all around the world have taken it upon themselves to humanize these characters and give us a good idea about what they could possibly look like if they were in fact human. We found the 20 most amazing cartoon animals re-imagined as humans, so let's take a look.

20 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Over the years, there have been three different animated series and a Japanese OVA focusing on the adventures of the four teenaged anthropomorphic turtles named after Renaissance Italian artists. Not to mention the live-action television series and several live-action movies. On top of all that, the fourth animated series about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is expected to premiere this year.

Needless to say, the Ninja Turtles have become incredibly popular and you’d have to be pretty hard pressed to find someone who’s never seen any of the animated or live-action series or movies. Fan art about the Ninja Turtles is abundant, including the kind that depicts the turtles as humans. This particular piece belongs to lorna-k, an amazing artist from Russia. According to her, the boys are all supposed to be Asian, but Mikey bleached his hair.

19 PIKACHU

Ok, so Pikachu is not technically an animal, but rather a pocket or pet monster, if you will. However, Pikachu and many of the other Pokemon do have animal-like appearance. Besides, this piece of fan art was just too good to miss out on the grounds of a technicality. So, for the purposes of this list, Pikachu will be considered a cartoon animal.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s take a closer look at this incredible humanized version of the most popular Pokemon of all time. The artist behind this fan art, sakimichan, titled the piece Super Saiyan Pikachu because the blond spiky hair reminded her of Super Saiyan form Dragon Ball, which totally makes sense. This humanized version of Pikachu looks fierce and has very little in common with its cutesy anime counterpart.

18 GABI (RIO 2)

Bet you never thought you’d see a sexy frog? Well, not that any of us asked for it, but ready or not here she is. Gabi, a small dart poison frog, is the secondary antagonist of the animated movie Rio 2 who just happens to be madly in love with the primary antagonist Nigel. Not that you’d have an easy task of discerning her true intentions since she looks so darn cute.

Perhaps that’s why someone felt the need to depict Gabi as a real human femme fatale, as opposed to a cute frog. The saucy, and quite frankly disturbing, humanized version of Gabi you see above was created by the American artist orangesekaii, who apparently though this shape would suit Gabi’s personality more.

17 COW AND CHICKEN

This wacky cartoon focuses on the misadventures of two unlikely siblings, the dim-witted younger sister Cow and her cynical older brother Chicken. The stuff that went around in this cartoon would probably not fly in the current era of censorship, but back in the day we were somehow allowed to watch these two weirdos.

But perhaps the more disturbing aspects of this cartoon were shrugged off precisely because the siblings were not human. There’s a level of detachment that stems from having animal characters pull crazy stunts and engage in questionable behavior instead of humans. Nonetheless, the Japanese artist hakurinn0215 decided to humanize these two delinquents. And while they look pretty different from their animal counterparts, there is a clear resemblance when it comes to their nature.

16 LOLA BUNNY (SPACE JAM)

The 1996 live-action/animated sports comedy movie Space Jam starring the Looney Tunes characters and the legendary basketball player Michael Jordan may not have been a stellar success with the critics, but it sure pleased its target audience. This crazy comedy entertained kids all around the world, as well as adults who were willing to cast aside logic and reason for an hour and a half and just enjoy the show.

A good chunk of the Space Jam fans would probably agree that the movie’s most significant contribution was the introduction of Lola Bunny, Bugs Bunny’s hot girlfriend. This sassy hare quickly became a fan-favorite and all kinds of fan art ensued. This humanized version of Lola Bunny was created by the very talented American artist asieybarbie.

15 SIMBA, PUMBA, TIMON (THE LION KING)

The Lion King is one of the most well-renowned and beloved animated movies of all time. This Disney masterpiece was released in June 1994 to wide critical acclaim and financial success. Even after all these years, this breathtakingly beautiful story continues to draw in new generations of fans. And for those of us who grew up with it, The Lion King will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

The movie has spawned a number of spin-offs, sequels, adaptations and a CGI remake of the original film is supposed the hit the theaters in 2019. The trio depicted above are, of course, Simba, Pumba and Timon. This awesome humanized version of the characters was created by chaico and is quite possibly based on the part of the movie when the trio sings the Hakuna Matata song.

14 DONKEY (SHREK)

It’s hard to believe that the first Shrek movie came out 17 years ago. Yes, you are indeed that old. Wrap your head around it, if you can. The Shrek franchise is expected to release the fifth Shrek movie by 2020 and a Puss in Boots sequel will probably happen at some point.

If for some inexplicable reason you still haven’t seen any of the Shrek movies, the character you see above is Shrek’s talkative and hilarious companion voiced by the one and only Eddie Murphy. The artist behind this piece of fan art, Astkhik from Russia, re-imagined Donkey as a human being. The most amazing thing about this humanized version of the Donkey is how the artist managed to retain the character’s personality.

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13 MINNIE MOUSE

Before we endeavored in going through all of these images of humanized cartoon characters we knew that we were bound to encounter all sorts of pieces. And while we did try to prepare ourselves for what we were about to see, some of these saucy images were too much to handle. Case in point, the Pin Up Minnie Mouse.

This humanized, all-grownup and sexy version of Minnie Mouse was created by the Italian artist Liarath(where you can see the original untouched image). As to what was going through the artist's mind when he created this piece of art we do not venture to guess. On the other hand, we’d very much like to know what Mickey thinks about Minnie’s new outfit. And also, it’d be cool to see Mickey being given similar treatment.

12 DAFFY DUCK

The third-most frequent (and popular) Looney Tunes character, Daffy Duck, starred in 130 shorts in the golden age. Daffy Duck made his first appearance way back in 1937 in the short animated film Porky’s Duck Hunt. Since his debut, Daffy Duck has become one of the most iconic and beloved Looney Tunes characters, and he’s often listed as one of the greatest cartoon characters to ever grace our screens.

Over the decades, the audience grew quite fond of Daffy Duck and a lot of talented fans have created tones of beautiful pieces of fan art. The cool duck featured above was created by sakimichan and looks disturbingly hot for a character featured in kid’s cartoons. Nevertheless, Daffy Duck's new look does kind of suit his personality.

11 KOWALSKI, PRIVATE, RICO, SKIPPER (PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR)

The mischievous penguins from the Madagascar movies were so popular that in 2014 they received their own spin-off movie. Penguins of Madagascar was well received by the critics and grossed a total of $373 million. The fans grew to love the penguins even more and a lot of fan art was created in their honor.

Indonesian artist Mossygator apparently loves drawing humanized versions of the penguins. In this particular image she depicted the gang as some kind of poker-playing gangsters in the 1920s. But it’s important to appreciate the amount of detail that went into creation of this piece. From left to right we have: Kowalski looking calm and collected, Private being clumsy and distracted, Rico with a playful smile on his face and of course the fearless leader Skipper observing everything.

10 JUDY HOPPS AND NICK WILDE (ZOOTOPIA)

The 2016 hit animated movie Zootopia depicted a world similar to ours, but instead populated by anthropomorphic animals. In this world the optimistic rabbit Judy Hopps becomes an Officer of the Zootopia Police Department and on her first day meets the fox con artist Nick Wilde. After a series of events, these two become a crime fighting duo embarking on a thoughtful and funny adventure.

And while the youngsters enjoyed the funny side, the adults raveled in the social commentary spread all across this amazing animated film. Given that the movie at its core is a well-orchestrated parable fans were easily inspired to create humanized versions of the characters. The awesome human take on Judy and Nick you see above was created by the Brazilian artist who goes by juliajm15.

9 DORY, NEMO, MARLIN (FINDING NEMO)

Two years ago, the Finding Nemo sequel titled Finding Dory grossed over $1 billion internationally becoming the current fifth highest-grossing animated movie of all time. Both movies focus on finding a lost fish, the first one being the clownfish Nemo and the second one being the regal blue tang Dory. And both are equally hilarious and heartwarming experiences you should not miss.

The artist behind this amazing piece of fan art, who goes by Elixirmy, did a very interesting take on the fish cast of the animated movies and turned them into humans. The father and son duo, Marlin and Nemo, look adorable in their matching sweaters and Dory looks as overly excited as ever, even in her human form. A truly beautiful take on such beloved cartoon characters.

8 DONALD AND DAISY DUCK

And if you’re thinking some of the entries on this list are way too old that you won't even recognize them, you're right and here comes more. This dashing duck has been around since the 1930s. The anthropomorphic white duck by the name Donald Duck and his girlfriend Daisy Duck have been entertaining audiences for decades. These two lovebirds are among the most iconic cartoon couples.

The amazing Japanese artist chaico loves to draw humanized versions of non-human Disney characters and the image above is their take on Donald and Daisy Duck. And we have to admit, we’re so in love with this adorable piece of fan art. The fancy clothes make it look like the couple is out on a romantic dinner. Apparently, Donald Duck is a real gentleman.

7 BUGS BUNNY

The flippant and carefree gray rabbit known as Bugs Bunny made his first appearance in the 1940 cartoon A Wild Hare. Since his debut Bugs Bunny has appeared in countless movies, television series, comics, video games and more. This crazy bunny even has his own star on the Hollywood walk of fame. And if you grew up watching either The Bugs Bunny Show or the Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny is probably among your favorite cartoon characters.

Considering how popular this gray hare is, there's a lot of fan art created in his honor. The amazing humanized version of Bugs Bunny featured above was created by the talented Canadian artist sakimichan, who’s known for her original takes on iconic cartoon characters. Her humanized Bugs Bunny looks kind of like a hot bartender or butler.

6 MELMAN AND GLORIA (MADAGASCAR)

The story of Madagascar starts when Marty the zebra grows bored with his daily routine at the New York Zoo and decides to follow a group of mischievous penguins who are trying to escape the Zoo. His friends, among whom are Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippopotamus, follow the Zoo-breakers and get in some hot water once in the outside world.

Over the course of the movies, Melman and Gloria develop a very close relationship and an unconventional yet adorable couple is soon formed. The Russian artist Astkhik re-imagined the two lovers as humans and portrayed them and their relationship perfectly. From the difference in their size to the color of their clothing, the humanized Melman and Gloria are incredibly reminiscent of their animal counterparts.

5 APPLEJACK (MY LITTLE PONY)

While some will never understand the appeal of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, others are prepared to defend it to the death. Opinions on this cartoon are as divided they can possibly get. One group argues that the cartoon teaches valuable lessons about friendship, other group claims that the cartoon is racist and homophobic, while the third group accused the cartoon of being an evil liberal conspiracy, and so on and so forth.

But wherever you may stand on the issue of My Little Pony, it’s hard to deny that visually the ponies in this animated series are quite appealing. The artist behind this piece of fan art, Takos000 who happens to be a big fan of My Little Pony, created an amazing humanized version of one of the main characters, Applejack.

4 MICKEY AND MINNIE MOUSE

Mickey Mouse is by far the most well-known cartoon animal. This adorable little mouse is the mascot of the Walt Disney Company and is often used in all kinds of designs. Mickey Mouse was created in 1928, as well as his beloved Minnie. This adorable couple has since grown to become one of the most popular cartoon couples.

Naturally, there’s a lot of fan art depicting Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The talented artist chaico created their own version of the iconic duo in human form. The humanized Micky and Minnie appear to be taking a stroll on a cold winter day, which may well be the case since the artwork was created in honor of Mickey and Minnie’s 86th birthday. Well, they certainly look good for their age.

3 SCRAT (ICE AGE)

Ice Age is full of funny characters, but the saber-toothed squirrel obsessed with collecting acorns is one of the most bat-crap crazy cartoon characters ever. The hilarious squirrel named Scrat made his first appearance in the first Ice Age movie back in 2002. And while his adventures have always been a blast to watch, his actions only had real ramifications in the fourth movie, Ice Age: Continental Drift, when Scrat’s pursuit of acorns got out of control and he accidentally caused the supercontinent of Pangaea to break up.

Scrat is one of the most beloved characters from the franchise and tones of hilarious pieces of fan art depicting this crazy squirrel can be found around the web. However, Astkhik’s piece is special because Scrat is a tiny bearded man.

2 LADY AND THE TRAMP

The beloved Lady and the Tramp cartoon from the '50s continues to entertain generations of kids from all around the world with its adventurous story, as well as interesting characters. In case you’ve somehow managed to go this far through your life without seeing it, Lady and the Tramp tells the story of a romantic encounter between the sheltered uptown Cocker Spaniel dog and a streetwise downtown Mutt.

The two dogs embody human-like personality traits, so it’s easy to see how an artist would come to the idea of making humanized versions of Lady and the Tramp. The artist who created this adorable piece of fan art is Alaina and she’s given the same treatment to a number of other non-human cartoon characters. Her take on Lady and the Tramp really captures their personalities.

1 LOLA BUNNY (SPACE JAM)

Hoo-boy! Who knew Lola Bunny could give Jessica Rabbit a run for her money... Bugs Bunny’s girlfriend, Lola Bunny, made her debut in the 1996 movie Space Jam starring basketball superstar Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes characters. The curvaceous Lola appeared in tight clothes striking a seductive pose and Bugs Bunny was immediately smitten with her. And while the character was designed and written to be a saucy femme fatale, at the same time, she was kind of a tomboy.

Sexy fan art featuring Lola Bunny is quite common and her original design and personality are most certainly contributing factors. But, as seductive as the cartoon animal was, she can't hold a candle to the humanized version depicted above by the incredibly talented artist sakimichan.